Now, before onboarding a client, you have to ensure he or she has an Aadhaar card.
AMFI has reportedly asked fund houses and R&T agents to insist that new mutual fund investors furnish their Aadhaar card. This means Aadhaar will become mandatory for mutual fund investments from April 1, 2018, said three people familiar with the development.
A senior R&T official told Cafemutual that from April 1 they will insist on Aadhaar from new investors to open a new mutual fund account. He said, “Though we are yet to receive any written communication on this, AMFI has told us verbally not to accept fresh investments without Aadhaar details. We expect to receive this communication by today.”
Another senior R&T official said, “AMFI has said that no new folios can be opened from April 1, 2018 if Aadhaar is not provided at the time of making an investment in mutual funds.”
A CEO of a fund house who is on the AMFI board said that the Union Finance Ministry and SEBI want the industry to encourage Aadhaar linking to financial market transactions as they believe that PAN is not sufficient to take care of the irregularities in tax compliance.
Last week, IRDAI asked insurance companies and agents to insist with their clients to link Aadhaar number and PAN/Form 60 within six months from the commencement of a new insurance policy.
Earlier, the ministry had directed fund houses to link Aadhaar numbers with mutual fund folios before December 31, 2017. The government later extended the deadline by three months, i.e., March 31, 2018. However, after the Supreme Court’s intervention, the deadline has been deferred until further notice.
